Build up the ancient ruins

Isaiah 61:1-4

The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the broken-hearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners;
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour,
    and the day of vengeance of our God;
    to comfort all who mourn;
3 to provide for those who mourn in Zion—
    to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
    the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.
They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, to display his glory.
4 They shall build up the ancient ruins, they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.

This is a song of celebration and promise fulfilled.

Good news is proclaimed to the most unlikely of people – the oppressed, the broken-hearted, the captives, and the prisoners. As I write this, one of the places in our world where people are broken-hearted, captives, prisoners, oppressed is in Gaza – the people of Gaza who are under attack and the Israelis who are still held hostage. But the same could be said of Ukraine, or Yemen, of Sudan, of Myanmar. Among the people who could be included are the millions of slaves – both women and men – in our world. And the homeless, along with those who have been forced to become refugees. Many in our world know the experience of oppression and heart-break; of being captives; of being prisoners to circumstance.

Vs. 2 promises the good news the messenger proclaims will bring relief – liberty, release, healing, care; and it will bring justice against those who have perpetrated the oppression, against those who have held people prisoner, against those who have caused the heart break. For there to be real peace, for there to be a real way forward, there must be accountability.

But revenge is not the end goal. The end goal is the rebuilding and repair of what was destroyed. The way ahead is not to simply paper over the past, forgetting what was. The way ahead is the restoration of what was, the recovery of the things that were lost. In God’s renewal the old ruins come to life, the things that have been long dead find new life. 

In such a world mourning turns to gladness, in such a world people hope again, in such a world people sing praise rather than living in the ash heap of the ruins. The lost is found, the broken is made whole, the dead are raised to life. This happens in the reign of God brought to us in Jesus Christ.

PRAYER:

Lord God, who raised Jesus Christ to life, come to us and bind up our broken hearts, lift our discouragement and give us a song of praise for your Son whose glory shines your light through the whole world. In Jesus’ name. Amen.